Once again, the 17th edition of Fotografia Kolekcjonerska is set to provide a feast of Polish photography. We will present unique photographs and a diversity of techniques, styles, and epochs, as well as great names, including Witkacy, Lewczyński, Rydet, Niedenthal, Althamer, to name just a few. The exhibition will open on 5 November and culminate with an auction of all the works.

The artworks exhibited as part of the Fotografia Kolekcjonerska project are both preeminent in artistic terms and highly desirable as collectible items. This has been proven during our successive auctions, where our highlights have broken record after record. This year’s autumn event will feature such valuable items, too.

The images to be shown at the exhibition span nearly one hundred and forty years, thus becoming a record of how photography has changed over the decades. This time, the oldest piece is a portrait of Konrad Brandel’s son, made by the distinguished photographer in 1879 during a famous session. It was awarded with a medal at a Royal Photographic Society exhibition in London, making Brandel the first Polish photographer to win the distinction.

Pre-war artists, such as Jan Bułhak, Zofia Chomętowska, and Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (Witkacy), will be featured too. Of Witkacy’s work, which is highly regarded by collectors, viewers will see “The Monster of Düsseldorf,” which is one of his most famous pictures. Made in collaboration with Władysław Jan Grabski in 1932, it depicts the artist in an improvised scene with Janina Turowska.

For the first time after a long break at our event, we will present works by Witold Romer, including one made in 1933 by means of izohelia, a technique invented by the artist himself. Some of the other photographic techniques to be presented include gum bichromate, as used by Witold Dederko and Marek Gardulski, photosynthesis, a creative technique characteristic of Krzysztof Pruszkowski, and the photographic collage, which was so masterfully used by Jan Dziaczkowski. Rare examples of a printing technique will be the heliogravures by Awit Szubert, Stanisław and Władysław Bizański, which date back to the early 20th century.

Among the most outstanding examples of portraiture will be the pictures of Jan Bułhak by Benedykt Jerzy Dorys and of Andrzej Wajda by Edward Hartwig and Bogdan Łopieński. A portrait of Edward Hartwig made by his wife Helena in Lublin in the 1940s will be complemented by his self-portrait – a photomontage with a scene depicting female models – dating back to the late 1950s/early 1960s.

The developments and transformations taking place in the present-day world will be mirrored in the photographs by documentary photographers representing various generations. Chris Niedenthal will take us back to the times of the communist era, while Wojciech Wilczyk, with his “Life after Life” series, and Michał Szlaga, with his Gdańsk Shipyard photograph, will show us the Polish reality after 1989. A somewhat different type of document will be the photographic record of Paweł Althamer’s artistic action “UFO”, during which Althamer constructed a spaceship in Toporów in 2004.

Conceptual art will be represented by the works of Natalia LL, with her “Artificial Photography” series (1976), and by Zygmunt Rytka, Jolanta Marcolla, and Jan Berdyszak.

Such photography classics as Zofia Rydet, Zbigniew Dłubak, Jerzy Lewczyński, and Bronisław Schlabs will also make their appearance. The youngest generation of award-winning artists will be represented, among others, by: Weronika Gęsicka, Marta Zgierska, and Patrycja Orzechowska.

EXPOSITIONS VOL. 1
Major works in the history of Polish photography from public and private collections

Guest: Adam Sobota, The National Museum in WrocławHost: Katarzyna Sagatowska

EXPOSITIONS is a series of meetings which will take you on a fascinating journey through the history of Polish photography. You will get to know the works and their creators – both great masters, and slightly forgotten artists who deserve to be rediscovered. You will be introduced to the leading Polish collections of photography, with outstanding experts who participated in their creation and development acting as your guides.

On the first evening, which is entitled ‘The Vitality of the Pictorial Tradition,’ the audience will meet Adam Sobota, who has been the head of the Photography Department of the National Museum in Wrocław since 1973. He has organised many exhibitions and authored a number of publications about the history of Polish photography and contemporary art. His major publications include: ‘Photography – History and Art. Catalogue of the Photography Collection of the National Museum in Wrocław’ (2007), ‘The Nobility of Technique – Artistic Dilemmas of Photography in the 19th and 20th Centuries’ (2001).

EXPOSITIONS are intended to accompany each future edition of Fotografia Kolekcjonerska.

An innovative guide for all those who want to function professionally on the art market. You will learn how to present your art, how to communicate with viewers, collectors and experts, and how to attain the technical refinement of your works to satisfy collectors’ standards. Our experts include: Dominika Chazanow – collector and owner of the ‘Many Hands Make Light Work’ collection, Michał Jaworski – Book&Art, and Katarzyna Sagatowska and Maga Sokalska – curators of Fotografia Kolekcjonerska.

The guide will consist of two parts.
The first part will be dedicated to the standards for preparing works for the collector’s market. It will focus on such topics as the types of prints, reproduction techniques, deciding on the number of prints in your edition, and dating, signing, storing and exhibiting your photographs.
The second part, which will take the form of a workshop, will be devoted to presenting your art, communicating with viewers, collectors and experts, and collaborating with institutions.

Number of participants: 15 persons. You must apply to participate. Fee for the course: PLN 150
When applying, please attach your bio and one series of works – maximum 20 photographs sized 1500 px on the longest side.
Application deadline: 4 November 2016
For enquiries and to apply, please write to: kontakt@fotografiakolekcjonerska.pl

Fotografia Kolekcjonerska is the only regular auctioning event dedicated exclusively to photography. Since its first edition in 2007, we have offered collectors a diversity of works by leading Polish artists. Traditionally, the items shown at the pre-auction exhibition will be rare prints made with a variety of techniques. The event is accompanied by a bilingual catalogue with the artists’ bios, photo descriptions and reproductions of all the works.